Special Olympics launches summer mentoring camp at Dubai Sports World

The local organising committee for the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 is hosting a six-week summer camp in Dubai Sports World at Dubai World Trade Centre to engage people with intellectual disabilities ahead of the World Games.

The camp, supported by Dubai Sports Council and Emaar Properties, started on Monday and will see participants attend weekly training sessions in football, basketball and cycling, with the help of qualified coaches, culminating in a tournament to put skills to the test.

Special Olympics ambassadors, members of the UAE Special Olympics team and Emaar employees will also join the weekly training sessions to help train and mentor participants

Khalfan Mohamad Almazrouei, Managing Director of Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019, said: “With next year’s Special Olympics World Games taking place in Abu Dhabi, this is one of the many events and initiatives that we are taking part in to engage with the wider community of people with intellectual disabilities across the UAE to encourage the movement to live in a more unified and inclusive society in the UAE and abroad.”

Ahmad Al Matrooshi, Managing Director of Emaar Properties, said: “Our support to the summer camp, as part of our role as a partner of the Special Olympics World Games 2019, underlines our commitment to corporate social responsibility.

“We look forward to hosting similar initiatives in Dubai and across the world-class venues owned by Emaar in the run up to the World Games to help build awareness on the message of inclusion and tolerance across the UAE and beyond.”

Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019, scheduled for March 8-22, will be the largest sports and humanitarian event in the world, with 7,000 athletes and 3,000 coaches representing more than 170 countries.

Clubs

SFS Falcons win Division B title at Insportz Ramadan tournament

SFS Falcons were crowned Division B champions of the Insportz Ramadan tournament after they defeated Fresh Fanatics by 58 runs.

At Dubai’s InSportz Club, Falcons set a competitive total of 71 in their allotted 16 overs.

Omer Khan (19) and Masood Abdul Rahim (25) gave a good start with 44 runs but

Sandeep Nazareth (0) and Arjun Manohar (-13) struggled with the bat. Their total was boosted when Zaidi Mohammed (9) and Amit Lalchandani (12) scored 21 before Barjinder Singh (8) was among the run-scorers to get 19 in the last four overs.

In their chase, Amit Ambiar (13) and Sethu Raj (14) got their team off to a good start with 27 runs, while Ali Sheikh (14) piled on more runs. But Falcons struck back with crucial wickets and although Subin Sulaiman (4) and Ajeeb Tamal (5) added to the score, Fanatics fell short by 13 runs of their target.

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Clubs

Dubai Mammoths set to go on UK tour for sixth consecutive year

After a busy domestic season in the UAE, Dubai Mammoths will test themselves against English opposition when they travel to the UK for a week-long tour on Saturday.

Also known as Sindhi Club, Dubai Mammoths will play five matches consisting of 35 and 40 overs against local clubs in Liverpool.

The team, whose players are 40 and over, will be led by all-rounder Shiva Pagarani and can look forward to playing fixtures against Hinckley Cricket Club, Luton Indians Cricket Club, Wavertree Cricket Club, Liverpool Select XI and Leicester Seniors Cricket Club.

It will be the sixth consecutive year that Dubai Mammoths will be visiting England and Pagarani says they are looking forward to testing themselves against their peers in the UK.

“It will be a very good opportunity for us to play in England because it really is the home of cricket,” he said. “We will play on traditional English wickets which will be a great test and the weather is so nice over there.

“In Dubai we play one match and then you tend to get tired because of the hot weather. In England, that’s not the case as you can play three games in a row and your tiredness will only come in the third match. We will be kind of fresh and ready to go for every match.”

He added: “We know it will be a difficult tour because it definitely won’t be the same type of cricket that we’ll play in Dubai. There’s a lot of T20 cricket played in the UAE which is what we are used to but the 30 and 35-overs format will be a challenge. We get to learn to play a longer format where skill and patience will both be required. It is something that we are very excited about as it will develop our skills as a cricketer.”

The tour is organised in partnership with City Cricket Academy who have arranged the fixtures and venues.

“They are well connected in the cricket circuit around England and they have some good clubs who are above 40,” Pagarani stated.

“Every time we have gone there, we have played at very good venues and arrange fixtures against competitive teams which is very good for us.”

On their last visit, Mammoths got the chance to watch India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy and Pagarani says there are plans to watch the arch-rivals again in next year’s World Cup.

“Every year the tour gets better and better because we want to enhance the tour as best as we can every time,” he said.

“Next year we are planning to go to Leicester and do the tour with the family so our wife and children can experience what this cricketing tour is as a whole.”